Olhon
Olhon is a Judicator in service of the Imperium of Sidhae. One of Serena Romana's three former disciples, he has since been elevated in rank to a full Judicator and now operates his own Judicatorial cell consisting of himself and his two disciples, Siri and Alaric. Background As with all Judicators, official records about Olhon's past have been sealed as classified, and like his fellow Judicators, Olhon himself does not make a habit of discussing it - a Judicator is expected to renounce his past and all former affiliations and ties. He is known to be a native of Lastrati Quintus, an Imperial forge world, his affinity for machines and technology therefore being almost natural. Activated in 2573, during the height of the Reconquest Wars, Olhon likely spent his early years studying applied IT and enlisted shortly after earning a degree, his aptitude with computers and other forms of advanced technology making him a natural choice for cyberwarfare specialist training. With the end of the Reconquest Wars in 2583 and the following discharge of large numbers of soldiers, many of whom consequently found himself out of work. While many former cyberwarfare and tech specialists were able to secure jobs as programmers, system administrators and cyber-security experts, others resorted to making a living by illicit means as hackers. A lot of them consequently ended up in labour camps, where many were brutalized by the more physically-imposing inmates - a phenomenon apparently so prevalent at the time that it contributed to "hacking" becoming synonymous to "prison rape", proper computer hacking becoming known as "spiking" in Sidh vernacular instead. Fortunately for Olhon, he was spared the fate of becoming some prison thug's plaything by Judicatrix Serena Romana, who recruited him for his expertise in hacking. Olhon spent the next 20 years as her disciple, studying the trade of Judicator and accompanying Serena on her many missions as her cell's tech expert. He earned his elevation to full Judicator during the Lenin Incident by partaking in the Avatar Project, which resulted in reviving the stored memories and personality of Zenobia Marylove, a deceased Judicatrix and a former lover of Serena, in the body of the captured Mecharussian marine captain Zinoviya Marilova. As a Judicator, he would accompany the Sidh delegation to A-1, aiding the delegates and the Mecharussian authorities in their battle against his rogue former brother-in-arms Alain. In the aftermath of the 15th July Plot, Olhon and his cell would join the Polunochnaya crew in their pursuit of Alain. Overview Unlike his fellow Judicators, Olhon maintains a rather friendly and easy-going attitude, which in combination with his rather unimposing appearance makes him appear less intimidating than his comrades. Enemies consequently tend to assume him to be a lesser threat - a fatal mistake especially when dealing with a Judicator. While lacking the refinement and social savvy of his former brother-in-arms Alain, Olhon however doesn't pass for a capable schemer, his laid-back and non-assertive demeanor having a way of putting people at ease and consequently lowering their guard where they otherwise wouldn't. While certainly very intelligent and capable of hatching schemes no less elaborate than Serena or Alain, Olhon normally isn't much for intrigue, instead preferring to use technology to do his work. Hacking and sabotaging computer systems and networks, mining for data, writing customized software for mission-specific applications, also the maintenance and customization of his cell's gear are his real areas of expertise. As a Judicatorial tech specialist, Olhon is a capable engineer and robotics expert as well as hacker and programmer, able to design and craft various pieces of equipment from ground up, many of which are mission-specific and one-of-a-kind. Another reason for his general reluctance to take up more social tasks is his dislike for formality. Where natural socializers like Alain or no-nonsense professionals like Serena have no problem in maintaining the propriety and decorum expected in high society events, Olhon feels most comfortable in the absence of social expectations and pressure, ideally in the company of like-minded people with shared interest in science and technology. Laboratories, workshops, factories and places where the common folk gather is where he feels most at ease and useful. Olhon rarely if ever gives in to anger, or any other excess of emotion, always maintaining a modest, unassuming and easy-going face and manner. His life philosophy is "a problem that can be solved isn't a problem, and a problem that can't isn't worth worrying about". He doesn't seem to have a problem maintaining this attitude even when threatened with death. He seems to have long accepted it as the inevitable fate of all, and hence is unconcerned with it in keeping with his own convictions. Olhon does believe in the general tenets of the Word and in the exalted status of the Emperor, but rejects the religious devotion to his teachings that Serena and Alain harbor. He considers himself a man thoroughly grounded in science and reason, although by no means less loyal or dedicated to the Sidh cause. To Olhon, the Emperor is the greatest man to have ever lived, the undisputed father and founder of the Sidh race and an example to be followed, but still a man nonetheless. He believes that the more extreme manifestations of the Emperor's personality cult in the present day are perversions of his original teachings, seeing how the Emperor himself had condemned religion as useless superstition. That being said, he does not object to others holding religious veneration for the Emperor, in the belief that every Sidh serves the Emperor's cause in his own way, it being both his right and responsibility to find his own path in doing so. Whether among fellow Sidhae or undercover with outsiders, Olhon doesn't make a habit of discussing religion or politics other than as purely-theoretical subjects, considering it poor form to question the private beliefs of others or to promote his own. He treats his disciples like a friendly mentor rather than an overbearing master, allowing them to do most of the learning and correcting their mistakes on their own, merely pointing them in the right direction. His choice of disciples likewise reflects his disdain for formalities - he would select Siri and Alaric from the ranks of the first generation of volunteers to join the Order by application rather than invitation, in a stark departure from the traditional process of recruiting prospective disciples in the line of duty. Olhon may pass as mild-mannered and easy-going, but his many years in the Order have also endowed him with the hardening, grit and cynicism characteristic to his fellow Judicators. When the job requires so, he is quite capable and willing to carry out cruel and immoral acts, as is evidenced by his callous indifference about the cruel treatment of Zinoviya Marilova during her conversion to Zenobia Marylove, which he personally supervised and helped to devise. That is not to say he doesn't have any second thoughts over his more questionable actions. Rather, Olhon has learned to set his personal feelings aside and treat them in a matter-of-factly manner, as an unpleasant but necessary part of his job - a pragmatic attitude dictated in no small part by the fact that the costs of inaction or do-gooding in a Judicator's line of work are very often extremely dire. As with most Judicators, to Olhon cruelty is just another tool, a means to an end. He does, however, strongly object to arbitrary use of cruelty for personal revenge or sadistic pleasure, viewing it as equally dangerous to reckless do-gooding. In his opinion, a Judicator must never let things get personal and always maintain a cool and level head, pragmatically evaluating all options and choosing the most efficient course of action that will yield the greatest and longest-lasting gains. Olhon maintains a neutral attitude towards Alain after his going rogue. To him, Alain is both a renegade and a former battle-brother and friend, and Olhon doesn't presume to judge him for that, "Alain having his own reasons" for his actions. Olhon regards the situation with the same cool and level-headed pragmatism as all other things - to him, stopping Alain is currently just another mission, another problem to be solved, no solution being off the book even though he would much prefer to spare the life of his old comrade if possible. While somewhat unimposing by Sidh standards, at least compared to Alain or Halko and their disciples, Olhon is still a highly-capable fighter, more than capable to take on supersoldier-tier foes that enemies of the Imperium can muster. That said, he again prefers to rely first on technology rather than his own martial prowess in a fight. An enemy attempting to engage Olhon can expect to face various traps ranging from hi-tech camouflaged sentry guns and gauntlets of deadly attack drones to well-placed landmines and punji sticks, his own technological assets hacked and turned against him, and failing that, an assortment of nasty surprises flash-forged by Olhon's custom-built tacticom in addition to the usual handblaster and holoblade. Olhon utilizes a highly-agile fighting style inspired by capoeira, staying out of foe's reach and presenting a difficult target to strike or grapple while delivering powerful kicks and tripping swipes.